Corono Delmar with Thu and Linh

Co Chau (much later ...)

Spleen for Harriet

The Muhammad cartoon flap

The cartoon flap is pretty scarry ... I think for a long time, Western governments have been tolerating and even partnering with really shaky, corrupted leaders from the Middle East, who cared not a whit about their people. By building a couple of schools here, a couple of dispensaries there, it didn't take much for the faction of Muslim fanatics to show the poor people in these parts of the world a semblance of equity and justice. Unfortunately, the road from schools and dispensaries and food-for-the-poor to religious intolerance and jihad was just a hair's breadth away. The ironic thing is, these fanatic values are now being institutionalized, aided by the very same democracy framework, proned by Bush as the cure all to the region's political ills (I'm thinking of the Hamas). The story of the cartoon shows how much of a gap there is in the mutual undestanding/appreciation between the Western world and the Middle East. Unless there's some way to bridge this gap (and why not through economic development rather than through this silly and much over-used notion of democracy imposed from without) we're heading toward WW3 slowly but surely. And I just really hope I don't live to see that day !

With some of the gals in Saigon - Dec 2005

Chuyen tien ve Vietnam

Truoc day KL co de nghi G. giup nhom CHH trong van de chuyen tien vao tai khoan cac sœurs neu can. G. se san sang nhan lam cong tac nay va de nghi cach lam sau day:

1) ca'c ba.n gui? check to G.
2) sau deadline, G. publish total amount (dollars, and euros equivalent) and who sent what
3) G. transfer total amount in euros cho tai khoa?n ca'c sœurs, và publish copy cua wire xfer
4) G. hoa(c mot ban khac confirm voi mot sœur trach nhiem la their account has been credited, and let everyone know

Nhung cung chua chac la cach lam nay co pha?i la cach tot hon het. Neu chi? là mô.t na(m mô.t lâ`n, thi` cha(?ng ha.n mi`nh co' thê? nho*` mô.t ba.n nào do' co' di.p vê` VN dê? trao tiê`n tâ.n tay ca'c sœurs ...